There may be no perfect way to watch “Game of Thrones,” but starting in the middle of Season 3 is probably among the worst. It drops the viewer into a flood of hundreds of new pieces of information, character backstories, and fantasy lore per minute. Ready? No? Too bad! Phwwwwsssh.
That same apprehension can hit when a tittle with a “II” comes along. Dan Goggin’s musical “Nunsense II,” produced by Centenary Stage Company gave this writer that sequel worry. A sequel? What about the original? Would this be another plunge into unfamiliar names, locations, and lore before the ten-minute mark?
But fear not. Centenary’s latest comedy musical is indeed a sequel, unfolding six weeks after the original “Nunsense.” But the script welcomes newcomers with a dose of nutty exposition early in the show.
The rapid-fire recap makes as much sense as any comedy needs to. Some nuns needed money, so they hosted a talent show to make money. Enter chaos, antics and huzzah, happy ending! Six weeks later those same nuns — our Little Sisters of Hoboken — are back in the habit for an appreciation show. And so the sequel begins.
We follow the nuns on stage and behind the curtain. The show-in-a-show segments play like a church open mic fundraiser if someone spiked the potluck snacks. Our nun characters crack jokes with puppets in a surprising show of old-fashioned ventriloquist skills, loop across the stage in light-up roller skates, and find ways to dance around all that heavy dark cloth.
The humor’s cute and cheekily clean. A lot of giggles come from moments that teer on the edge of innuendo, only for the characters to zip back from the precipice of profanity. The show hews close to its late 80s off-Broadway origins with a top-hat-and-cane number and razzmatazz New Yawk accents to match.
And you know what? The show’s old school charm wins you over. The specific humor of the script is one major delight. Catholics and veterans of Catholic school will find themselves shocked into giggles from memories they thought long-faded. A sketch on “The Catholic Guide to Gift-Giving” in particular will resurrect those memories of CCD classes like Lazarus. You can tell that the playwright is a former seminarian.
The real kudos go to the cast. There’s not a weak link in this ensemble of sassy sisters, with their energetic physical comedy and the guts to go all-in on the jokes. There’s a lot to love here, from the snippy but affectionate friendship between Cynthia Livingstone’s Sister Mary Regina and Lea Antolini-Lid’s Sister Mary Hubert to Audrey Jantzen’s sweet ballerina-nun Sister Mary Leo and Katie O’Shea’s scene-stealing Sister Amnesia. Michaela Thiessen, who fittingly plays Sister Mary Michaela Third Nun from the Left, makes up for limited lines with killer dance moves as powerful as they are elegant. Makes sense– the playbill reveals that she’s also the co-choreographer and dance captain.
Cassandra Krajcik’s Sister Robert Anne makes an especially powerful impression with two heart-stirring numbers that bookend Act II. In that final song, she turns on the star presence with gospel music power that shoots like rocket fuel through the audience, propelling everyone upright and on their feet for a standing ovation.
Look. The skies are literally dark out there. At times like these, the heart yearns for joy. And this show brims with it. As the hymn goes, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the wounded soul– and sometimes, that balm just might be a dose of charming nunsense.
Centenary Stage Company presents “Nunsense II: The Second Coming” at Sitnik Theater in Hackettstown now through August 10. For more information or for tickets, visit https://www.centenarystageco.org/nunsense2
Chip O'Chang is an educator, fiction writer, and lifelong resident of New Jersey. He has also written for My Life Publications and NJ Indy. He lives in the NJ Skylands with his partner, two cats, and and a bearded dragon.
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
- Chip O'Chang, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/chip-ochang-contributing-writer/
